By David Sayen
Gazette Contributor
Health
insurance isn’t the easiest thing to understand. But if you have
Medicare, there’s a variety of help resources you can turn to.
One is Medicare’s toll-free help line, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Trained representatives are available 24 hours a day, every day of the
year to answer your questions about your Medicare coverage.
All
people with Medicare receive a copy of the “Medicare & You”
handbook in the mail each fall. This booklet has a wide range of
information about what Medicare covers and what it costs. It includes
details about Original Medicare as well as privately-run Medicare health
and prescription drug plans that you can join.
Another useful resource is Medicare’s consumer-friendly website, at www.Medicare.gov.
Among other things, the website has tools that let you compare Medicare
health and drug plans. (You can also look for local hospitals, skilled
nursing homes, home health agencies, and dialysis centers that best fit
your needs.)
Yet
another terrific way to get your questions answered is to make an
appointment with your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program,
or SHIP.
SHIP
provides free, personalized counseling to people with Medicare. You can
speak with a trained SHIP counselor over the phone or in person. The
counselor will give you accurate, unbiased advice about your Medicare
benefits and how to get the most out of them.
SHIP counselors can help you with questions about Original Medicare, Medicare
Advantage plans, Medicare supplement (Medigap) policies, Medicare Part D
prescription drug plans, Medicare Savings Programs, and long-term care
insurance.
Got
a problem with a medical bill? SHIP can help you deal with it. SHIP
counselors are volunteers and they’re often enrolled in Medicare
themselves, so they know the issues. They can help you understand your
Medicare rights, file a complaint if you feel you got inadequate care
from a hospital or other healthcare provider, or file an appeal if your
Medicare health or drug plan denied you a service.
With
Medicare open enrollment season coming up (it runs from Oct. 15 to Dec.
7), you may be thinking about joining a Medicare health or drug plan,
or switching from one plan to another. SHIP can help you choose a plan
that best meets your needs in terms of cost, coverage, and convenience. A
counselor can sit down with you and help you compare various plans
until you find the right one. They also can help you enroll in that
plan.
Let’s
say you take multiple prescription medications. A SHIP counselor can
enter all your drugs into Medicare’s Plan Finder tool (available through
www.Medicare.gov)
and search for plans that cover your drugs. The counselor will then
help you compare plans based on monthly premiums, co-pays, and any
restrictions that may apply.
If
you have a low income, the counselor can help you apply for the “Extra
Help” program, which helps pay your costs in a Medicare drug plan.
You can reach the SHIP office nearest you by calling this toll-free number: 1–800–432–4040.
SHIP isn’t affiliated
with any insurance company and won’t try to sell you insurance. (Funded
through federal grants, the program is operated by the Arizona
Department of Economic Security, Division of Aging and Adult Services,
and Arizona’s Area Agencies on Aging.) Your name will never be passed
along for commercial purposes and your personal health information will
be kept strictly confidential.
SHIP’s only goal is to help you get the best possible health care under your Medicare coverage.
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